2010-2019

Steve Glassman was born on September 20, 1954 in Chicago. He was fortunate enough to grow up in a rather liberal household with accepting parents who were involved in political activism and social justice during the Civil Rights era. Glassman’s story is unique in that he utilized his privilege in both his upbringing and education to further the activism that his parent’s passed down to him. Glassman graduated from Brown University with a BA in Art History and Architecture and moved on to then receive his MA in Museum Curatorial Work from Yale University. In this interview, Glassman describes what it is like as a person of the LGBT community to work for a living while simultaneously dedicating their life to LGBT rights and the rights of other marginalized communities. He has owned his own architectural firm while successfully balancing governmental positions and organizational positions.

Melita McCully was born on December 11, 1952 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. After the death of her father, Melita moved to Florida with her family and became both the breadwinner and the caretaker of her six brothers and sisters, mother and grandmother. As a teenager, Melita volunteered when she was not in school in exchange for her brothers’ tuition at their Catholic school. Unable to go away for college, Melita attended St. Petersburg Junior College and the University of South Florida. While in college, Melita held 2 jobs to support her family and herself. After graduating with a 3.7 GPA and 23 extra credits, Melita enlisted in the United States Women’s Army Corp at the age of 21, not retiring until 29 years later. Melita gives a well-detailed overview on her experience in the U.S. Army as a lesbian woman starting off in a gender-segregated military. Furthermore, up until 2011, after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, LGBT people were not welcomed into the military and risked dishonorable discharge. This impacted Melita’s experience and relationships greatly, but this did not stop her from achieving several ranks and overseeing hundreds of soldiers.

Sophie Kandler was born in Spring City, Pennsylvania in 1966. After being bullied at home and at school, Sophie finally graduated from high school. After graduating and applying to colleges, Sophie decided to attend Drexel University. After attending Drexel for two years, Sophie transferred to Penn State and graduated from there in 1989 with a degree in secondary education, English, and History. Nevertheless, Sophie’s attempt to receive a job in any of these fields has been a struggle. In this interview, Sophie discusses the privileges and oppression of growing up as a man while identifying as a woman. Growing up in a family that idealized hegemonic masculinity, Sophie learned to not outwardly express that she is transgender. She discusses the challenges she faced as a result of transphobia in the workplace and common public spaces, in addition to the challenges she witnessed her friends face due to trans discrimination. Sophie elaborates upon the importance of community and empathy in her life and other trans folks, and gives various spiritual and political meanings to how trans people are regarded in American society. In this interview, Sophie also touches on her experiences in parenting during and after transitioning.

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Center of Central PA (Harrisburg) began to form in the late 90s. To receive fundraising though the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership of New York, the founding group was led approximately 600 need-based assessment surveys around Central Pennsylvania. The study covered the eight-county region of Central Pennsylvania. In 1999, the group received a matching grant from the foundation – one out of the two states in the country to get that funding. From this funding, the LGBT group in Harrisburg was able to gain a community center. In this interview, Louie Marven, Ben Dunlap, Marlene Kanuck and Elizabeth Mullaugh speak on their experiences as board members of the LGBT Center in Harrisburg and each describe the functions and communal efforts made by the group, including starting Gay-Straight Alliances in Pennsylvania high schools.

Mara Kiesling was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1959. Mara is a transgender woman, who is a transgender rights activist and founding executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality based in Washington D.C. In this interview, Mara discusses her upbringing in a political household as her father had political books and always watched the news, which influenced her interest in politics and activism. Also, she elaborates on her various jobs and the relationships she established and maintained at those places. Mara explains her transitioning stage and how she frequently traveled to different states to be a part of groups where she felt most comfortable in the journey to finding herself. She also explains her reactions to transgender people when she occupied certain spaces, prior to transitioning. Furthermore, Mara compares her experiences as a transgender women in cities versus small towns. She constantly acknowledges how lucky she is to have one of the best support systems in comparison to other transgender people. Ultimately, she expresses the strategic way she came out to her family, and their reactions.

For more than a decade, Jeanine Ruhsam was an advocate in Central Pennsylvania’s transgender community. With the primary goal of providing support and resources for transgender people and their loved ones, she spearheaded the Trans Central Pennsylvania organization and the Keystone Conferences. Her projects have also included organizing initiatives like the Transgender Day of Remembrance, as well as political lobbying and legislation. Today she continues her career as a Women and Gender Studies Professor in New Hampshire. This interview discusses her personal experience as a trans women, her thoughts on the Central Pennsylvania LGBT community, and her insight into the future of trans people in the United States.

Amanda Porter [now known as Amanda Hecker] was born in 1950 in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Amanda is a trans woman and transgender rights educator and activist. In this interview, Amanda repeats her goal of wanting to make transgender people visible everywhere. She discusses her time in the Air Force and in college, during which she thought of herself as “cross-dressing.” She then later explains how she begin to learn the word “transgender” and ultimately identified as such. Amanda also explains her relationship with her wife, children, and friends before her coming out to them, but also elaborates on her time hiding her true identity. Furthermore, she touches on her current life being retired and owning a business. Finally, Amanda expands on how being a part of a transgender support group gave her the courage to be comfortable with herself as a woman, in addition to how it eventually led to her presenting on public speaking platforms and wanting to support others who struggle with the implications of being transgender in society.

Harry Long was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in 1951 and attended Lebanon High School. After attending Millersville State College, now Millersville University, and becoming involved with an underground newspaper, Harry began his career of working for newspapers; in addition to doing freelance artwork. In the early 1980s, Harry came out publicly as gay. In this interview, he discusses the struggles and joys of his experience affected by his sexuality, throughout his careers. Growing up in a fairly traditional family, it was a “long time coming” to be open about his sexuality to his parents. He discusses the challenges he faced in building up several successful newspapers and the relationships he made being a part of several gay rights organizations. Harry elaborates upon the importance of close friends and navigating through different jobs to find how one can be most accommodating in society. In this interview, Harry also touches on his experiences of being involved in politics and the changes (and similarities) that he has witnessed in Lebanon, Pennsylvania over the years.

Robert Sevensky was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1948. Despite having an unpleasant experience in early education and having financial issues, Robert persevered and ended up pursuing an academic career in college. After two years at the University of Scranton, he studied English abroad. He then eventually received his doctorate in philosophy. In this interview Robert discusses the struggles and joys of sexuality and religion from childhood to retirement. Growing up in a heteronormative society, he was mostly quiet about understanding and exploring his sexuality. He also discusses becoming involved with the church and the Holy Cross Monastery. The monastery is a significant part of Robert’s life as he and many other brothers there are openly gay. Furthermore, the monastery has become a safe space for LGBT-identifying folks to converse and participate in different programs. Robert elaborates on joining various LGBT rights organizations and other spaces that have become inclusive to LGBT folks. Though these spaces are inclusive, Robert explains the negative effects of how the HIV/AIDS epidemic was treated in medical facilities for a period of time. In this interview, Robert also touches on his current beliefs about how society has recently began to shift towards political correctness and what that means to him, specifically regarding queer theory and thus, queer people.

Marty Tornblom was born in Utah and was raised in the greater Salt Lake City area, as a member of the Mormon Church. She decided to get a degree in education which lead her to teaching. Following her marriage, she converted to Presbyterianism and moved all over the country, including Utah, California, Alabama, and Pennsylvania. Family is integral to her story, as she is happily married and has four children. She moved with her family to Harrisburg in 1980 and that began her involvement in the local community and work around HIV/AIDS. She worked for SCAAN (South Central AIDS Assistance Network) as a buddy for people with AIDS and the Prevention Educator for the organization. Marty discusses her personal relationship with many of her buddies and other people associated with the organization, her efforts to involve the greater local community, her work providing STI testing services for local people, her involvement in AIDS activism, and her hope for the continued progress within the LGBTQ community, reflecting back on all she’s seen in her life.

Kerry Wiessman was born on October 26, 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. She grew up in Wayne, New Jersey in a lake community. Kerry discusses her upbringing in a large family and her relationship with her mother. Kerry also discusses her career in education and in helping children. With her long-term partner, Beth, Kerry adopted two daughters (Hana and Gabrielle) from China. They were one of the last lesbian couples to adopt out of China. Kerry founded or helped found several LGBT organizations, including the Center LGBTQA Support Network and the Gay Affirming Interfaith Network. Kerry also organizes “Drag Bingo” fundraiser event for the State College High School and her identification as a Quaker. Kerry speaks to her experience in a litigation regarding homosexual couples where the ACLU picked up their case and won the suit, eventually changing numerous policies regarding unmarried couples and insurance. Finally, Kerry discusses her fears regarding the current political climate as well as the Trump presidency.

James Tompkins was born and grew up in Southern Pennsylvania, where he lived on a farm with his one brother, three half siblings, and parents. In this interview, James discusses his experiences coming out to his family, his art, and various bars and gay organizations in York and nearby areas. He also discusses his experiences having a partner with AIDS and working through ACT UP and other well-known organizations to protest in the 70s, 80s, and 90s on the local, state, and national level.

Deb Fulham-Winston was born in 1952 in Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up in an Irish-Catholic family with eight siblings, and spent the first half of her schooling in Catholic school. Early on, she had a strong conviction for feminism and social justice which drew her away from the Catholic Church and inspired her to attend Bates College for two years and then transfer to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where she was one of the first 13 women to graduate. She has spent all of her career working with non-profits in the development sector, including agencies such as Planned Parenthood, various college fundraising organizations, and a variety of others. During this interview, she primarily discusses her experience at SCAAN [South-Central Aids Assistance Network], and her experiences with the social connotations of working with an AIDS foundation, the struggles that individuals with AIDS went through, the functions and day-to-day activities of SCAAN, and the annual AIDS Walk in Harrisburg, which she organized.

Frederick (Rick) Schulze was born in Delaware in the 60s and spent his childhood and adolescence in the 70s in the Harrisburg area. He first talks about his complicated relationship with his family and his gay identity, mentioning his mother’s support and positivity, his dad’s indifference, and other members’ repulsion. He then goes onto to discuss his first interactions with gay related material and media and his escapades cruising on State Street in Harrisburg. After high school, Rick went onto Mansfield University and was instrumental in forming The Mansfield Gay Alliance, first gay organization there. He describes the many abuses and acts of discrimination both he and his classmates faced. He goes on to detail the AIDS related volunteer work he did in the area, discussing the impact of the AIDS crisis on Central Pennsylvania. Rick worked closely with the organizations SCAAN, South Central AIDS Assistance Network, and AIDS Resource and then went on to work with the Department of Health in HIV/AIDS Counseling during the 90’s. During this time, his mother and Hope Nancarrow, the mother of Mary Nancarrow, worked closely with PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians, and he talks about the speaking circuits she went on at different churches and community spaces and touches on the threats that have been posed to the both of them. He also talks about various activists and their interactions with anti-gay leaders such as Anita Bryant in the area. After his public service, Rick went on to a career in academia, eventually settling in as a professor in Health Ed and Public Health at Lock Haven University. Outside of the classroom, he works closely with students on an LGBTQ related focus group and has been instrumental in instating gender name change policies and gender neutral bathrooms at the school. Rick’s story is a reminder to us all about the importance of public service and the impact just one person can have on a community and geographical region.

Patricia ''Pat'' Mastandrea Sanders was a hair stylist in Boston before moving up to advertising and marketing for 300 salons across the country. One fateful day she slipped on an ice cube and hit her head. Her life changed forever. Unable to work due to memory loss, Pat decided to give her time to various AIDS/HIV advocacy groups in the Lancaster County area. Pat worked with the Lancaster AIDS Project, Betty Finney House, and American Red Cross Foundation’s yearly Oscar Party. She hand wrote hundreds of letters each year to celebrities requesting donated materials and the response she got was incredible. Pat also discusses LGBTQ in the Age of the Trump/Pence presidency.

Gary Hufford (born 1952) and George Centini (born March 11, 1937) are a married couple living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In this interview, George and Gary recount their time in the gay bar and restaurant business. Both grew up in the restaurant business and became business partners together. As successful restauranteurs, they provide insight in the running of their business, the Tally-Ho and the Loft, as well as other local gay bars. They also speak about employing family and friends as workers and employing both gay and straight workers. They also speak about how both of their families were supportive of their relationship and are both part of the other’s family. They liken Lancaster to a “bubble” where many outside problems did not affect them strongly. Even so, they speak about the impact of the AIDS crisis on the young people who often visited their bars and the loss of many in the gay community in Lancaster. Additionally, they talk about their annual trips to Key West in order to live the “gay lifestyle.” Finally, they speak about their choice to finally marry after many years together.

This is an interview with Steven Leshner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He conveys his struggles of coming out in the 1970s and being a gay man in central PA through a series of anecdotes. Steven also talks extensively about his work at Dignity and his relationship with Jerry Brennan. While Steven was not active in S.C.A.A.N. (South Central Aids Assistance Network), he was involved in a group that later became S.C.A.A.N. Also of note, Steven talks about his first time with a man, life as a male nurse in the 1970s and 80s, growing up Jewish, Jerry Brennan’s death, attending Pride festivals in NYC, and being a single gay man in Harrisburg.

Hannah-Smith Brubaker was born in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, and spent most of her childhood in Port Allegany, McKean County. She began to identify as a lesbian at the start of college, and she entered the political sphere for the first time when she participated in the Second National March on Washington in 1987. While on a study abroad program in Europe for about four years, Hannah worked for Onlywomen Press, a lesbian separatist book publishing company based in London. There she met Eileen, with whom she stayed for 16 years and had a son and daughter. Four years later in 2010, Hannah met Deborah, a Mennonite, with whom she is now happily married and maintaining a farm. In this interview, Hannah details her experiences of coming out as a lesbian to her friends and family, focusing upon her father, a Methodist minister. She chronicles her path of political activism, including a formal interrogation she experienced when departing from England on a plane. She also discusses the challenges of going through second parent adoption, and the importance of community, love, and acceptance in transforming the society of today.

Mark Segal is a gay rights activist, author, and journalist for the Philadelphia Gay News. In this interview, Mark discusses his political involvement in the gay rights movement in Pennsylvania in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Particularly, he focuses heavily on his work with Governor Milton Shapp, the first United States governor to publicly support the LGBT community. While discussing his life as a gay rights activist, Mark recounts many personal stories and memories such as disrupting popular television talk shows, working alongside Walter Cronkite, and signing up to become a Pennsylvania state trooper as an act of political resistance. Throughout, Mark stresses the important but often understated role Pennsylvania played in advancing civil rights for the LGBT community, while emphasizing that his state still has a long way to go.

Sabrina Valente was born in Baltimore, MD and lived most of her childhood and adolescence in Littlestown, PA in Adams County. She attended Eastern University for an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies and Wagner College for a Master’s degree in forensic psychology. Sabrina has spent all of her career in the mental health field, working in various organizations to help people with behavioral problems or crisis management. She is currently working for the non-profit organization TrueNorth Wellness as a clinical supervisor. In this interview, Sabrina discusses the how her liberal arts education helped to lead her to the LGBT community and her struggle with balancing religious beliefs and her identity. Sabrina emphasizes the importance of being open to change and fluidity in one’s sexuality and lifestyle.

Amy Skillman talks about her childhood growing up in Michigan in a large Episcopalian family and the influence of spirituality in her life, both as a teenager and an adult. Amy went to an all-girls school where rumors circulated about certain boarders and a book they were reading. Amy believes that this was likely her earliest introduction to LGBT alternatives to heterosexuality. Even before coming out and joining the LGBT community, Amy had frequented gay bars as a young woman and lost many friends to AIDS. However, it would be many years before she herself would come to terms with her own identity. Amy discusses falling in love with a woman for the first time at the age of forty. She describes coming out to her parents and siblings as both a challenge and a relief. Amy also discusses her activism and her interest in folklore, which is rooted in witnessing inequities as a child in the African American community in Detroit. While a graduate student at UCLA, Amy raised money for AIDS charities and for the people of Nicaragua. Amy also talks about the play she helped produce about and starring LGBT youth. Currently, she is the Director of Goucher College’s Masters Program in Cultural Sustainability.

Don Haines was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and grew up there. In this interview he discusses his experience in Lancaster County as a gay man. He also discusses his experience in Columbia, PA and the acceptance that he has from his family and friends in that area. Topics focus on his interaction and practice of religion, specifically Catholicism, his job as a worker for the commonwealth of PA, his activism in college and while living in Columbia, PA, and what still needs to be worked on for the rights of the LGBT community in PA, particularly when it comes to the political culture in PA.

Gretchen Little was born on October 26, 1958 in Elmira, New York. As a child, Gretchen was interested in sports and experimented with wearing women’s clothing in the home. While studying Media Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Gretchen told some female partners about her interest in presenting as a woman, but remained largely closeted. After law school at the University of Pittsburgh, Gretchen went on to serve as the District Attorney for Sullivan County for several terms and then moved to Harrisburg to work for the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association. While in Harrisburg, Gretchen worked for TransCentral PA and helped organize the first Keystone Conference. In this interview, Gretchen discusses the vocabulary she used to describe her feelings during the sixties and seventies, her past relationships, her work with TransCentral, and the process of finding an authentic presentation in balance with her professional goals and personal relationships. She also discusses some difficult movements of confrontation, her relationship with organized religion, and her perspective on dating in the future. Gretchen concludes the interview by talking about how she chose her name after a domestic violence advocate she met while she served as the DA.

Cathy Nelson was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Staten Island, New York, at the age of two with her strict Italian-Swedish family. As a child, Cathy loved music and did well in school. She also participated in Catholic youth group retreats, where she first encountered anti-gay sentiment. Although she knew she was attracted to girls from an early age, Cathy did not act on these feelings until age 22, when she entered her first long-term relationship. Cathy worked as a teacher in Carlisle, PA, but stopped teaching after suffering a head injury that affected her speech. Currently, she does secretarial work for a friend and ally at Goldcrafter’s Corner. Cathy was involved with the Pride planning committee and sang with the Central Pennsylvania Women’s Chorus. In this interview, Cathy discusses the process of coming out to herself, her family, and her friends. She also describes the Harrisburg-area lesbian community in the early 1990s and the problems and successes of the Women’s Chorus throughout her years of involvement. Cathy also discusses the general acceptance of lesbians in mainstream culture, but condemns the exclusion of transgender issues from the LGBT community and the transphobia that she sees as a major issue of the day.

Shaka Hudson was born in 1949 in Harrisburg as the middle of five children. An artist his whole life, Shaka attended John Harris High School and Penn State University before unenrolling in college and leaving Harrisburg to join the Washington D.C. Repertory Dance Company and Theatre Company as a dancer. There, he met his first male partner, and together they moved to New York City in 1975. While modeling for an art class at the Art Students League, Shaka met and fell in love with a woman who he later married and had one daughter with. After they divorced approximately 10 years later, Shaka moved to Richmond, Virginia with a new male lover who, unbeknownst to Shaka, was sick with AIDS. Shaka contracted HIV in 1987. After his lover’s death, Shaka moved back to the Harrisburg area and had one more major relationship. In this interview, he thoroughly discusses his journey as an artist and a dancer. Shaka also discusses the AIDS epidemic, his relationships with family members, and changes he would make to the Harrisburg community. Additionally, he expresses his concern that the younger generation is too carelessly promiscuous as well as the importance of citizens exercising their right to vote.